Gran Turismo 2 Provides Thrill Of Auto Racing

Software review

February 10, 2000|By Aaron Curtiss, Los Angeles Times

You know you're in for an experience when a console racing game comes packed with a users manual and a separate reference manual - for a total of 110 pages of reading. Come on, console racers are traditionally the simplest of the simple.

Step on the gas.

Go.

Go faster.

Steer.

Win.

That was, until Gran Turismo for Sony Playstation turned everything upside down in 1998 with a racing game that required not only keen driving skills, but the smarts to know how to manage a career as well. It would be unfair to call the sequel, Gran Turismo 2, a mere offspring, because this is the big daddy of console racing games.

As in the first game, players can choose from the simpler arcade mode or the more complex simulation mode. Each is housed on its own disc. The choice of cars is staggering: More than 500 models representing nearly 40 manufacturers as diverse as Mercedes-Benz and Daihatsu. The selection of tracks is incomparable: More than 20 spread across the globe, including dirt rally tracks.

Winning at Gran Turismo 2 requires understanding the physics of driving - from how weight transfers during turns to how engine placement affects power distribution - as well as knowing the individual quirks of the cars and the nuances of the tracks.

It just doesn't get any better than Gran Turismo 2.

INCOMING - HELP SAVE THE PLANET

Incoming for Sega Dreamcast demands little brain power. But easy to pick up does not mean easy to put down. Incoming fills the need on Dreamcast for a multi-vehicle shooter that players can either enjoy as a stand-alone arcade game or as a series of missions.

The game's premise is simple: In the next decade, aliens begin a campaign to take over Earth and a small fighting force is the only defense. Each player assumes a role in this fighting force, piloting vehicles from attack helicopters and tanks to futuristic spaceships. Each has a different set of controls and characteristics, so a player can find plenty to keep himself occupied even if he plays the same level over and over.

Within the game, play alternates between attacking alien forces and defending installations or friendly ships. Each requires slightly different tactics, but the game places a clear premium on sharp shooting.